Midnight
by Giovanni293
Summary: Juliana is your normal teenage girl, popular, pretty, clever. She has everything she could ask for, that is until she is sent to live with her father in Forks. Now plagued by dreams she can't explain she finds there is another reason for her to be there an it wasn't an accident. Is she in danger in her new hometown? and who are these two men who keep showing up? OC's
1. Good Bye

Chapter One: Good-Bye

My heart is pounding as he gets closer. All I see is the figure of his body and his beautiful smile. Stepping toward him my body begins to heat up and my mind becomes flustered. My head spins and my straight path begins to swirl and I see no way of reaching him. My heart rate speeds up as I reach the center of the spiraling path. Before me he stands his beautiful smile gleaming at me. I reach out to grab him and pull him into the light that now shines on me only. The bright spotlight is making my stage fright kick in. My hands begin to tremble. Sweat starts falling from my face. My heart is leaping out of my chest. A tingle runs through my fingers as I touch the nice leather of his jacket. I take a step forward slowly making my way out of the light. He stands before me in the darkness now, straight faced, no smile. His arm extends to me and I reach out to grab it. My head begins to pound and my ears start ringing. I touch his fingers and suddenly I drop.

*Ring...Ring…Ring…* I jump out of bed with the sound of my phone going off. I look to see who was calling me. "Kristen, of course it would be her." I sigh as I click the end call button. Kristen is my best friend. We've known each other since I moved to Los Angeles with my mom. I don't want to talk to her right now for one reason only… I'm moving. We have spent the last three weeks crying to each other hoping that the decision my mother made would change. Our hopes were not heard and left unanswered. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be Juliana of Los Angeles. I will now be known as Juliana the new girl of Forks, Washington. I will be moving with my dad to this one horse town.

Slowly I drop to the floor my body does not want to leave the comfort of my home. I wish things could be different but like they say '_It is what it is._' The strange pattern formed on my ceiling catches my attention one last time. As I stare into the multiple swirls memories of my first day here flash in my head. A tear forms in my eye, this is it my last day here. Quickly I jump up. "Starting today Juliana you will become a new person. You will better yourself and will work ten times harder than you have ever worked in your life." I say to myself. I scurry to my closet searching for something to wear on my final day of my first semester of my junior year in high school. My head drops as I realize my closet is empty. I look around at all of the boxes in my room stacked in the corner next to my door.

Hesitantly I reach for the box labeled clothes at the top of Mt. Boxious in the corner of my room. Afraid that everything would start tumbling down on me I slowly pull the box toward me. It's at the edge almost in my reach then like that one file you want to download it hits 99% then cashes down on me. "Just my luck."

The car pulls up in front of my school. Everyone in a flurry as they realize they forgot to do the homework for Ms. Plante's chemistry class or noticed they left something important at home (deodorant for some.) The atmosphere here seems different, maybe it's because I know I will no longer be walking the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School. It seems as though everyone knows I do not belong here anymore. As if I had been exiled from the plains of Africa or even banished from my mystical kingdom. Eyes seem to gleam at me as I enter my homeroom. Kristen is standing at my desk her appearance different than usual. She is dressed up as if going to a wedding or some fancy diner. She curled her hair and straightened her bangs in order to show a transition where her pink headband lays. Her dress a nice polka dotted black and white dress with a pink sash across her abdomen. Surprisingly she has nice black four-inch heals with a little white bow across the toes. This must really mean a lot to her. Kristen is typically your blue jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl. My eyes begin to burn as the factory starts producing my tears. Our eyes meet as I make my way to her.

"Good morning Julia" she says forcing a smile upon her lips.

"Good Morning Krissy"

We reach in to hug each other. As our bodies touch all the emotions we are feeling fill our bodies and intertwine with one another. I can feel the pain she feels right now and I'm sure she feels the same. We don't want to let go. I feel the sudden trickle of her tears flowing down here cheek as it safely drops on my shoulder. I let go in order to look her in the eyes hoping to talk her into thinking this situation isn't as bad as it seems.

"Krissy you know this won't change anything, right?"

"I…I...I know." She says as her tears interfere in her talking.

"I will only be in Washington so I would always be able to visit. Like on the weekends or during vacations."

"I prefer the weekend option." She says with a little chuckle as we both realize that it is impossible to travel both ways each weekend without having a job.

Mr. Johnson walks in his grey hair perfectly combed today. His blue dress shirt buttoned all the way up with a blue and black stripe tie. He even got to the details and used a silver tie bar to keep his tie from moving around or ever eat before he does. I wonder what the occasion is. He motions for everyone to sit down by waving his hand down. We all go to our seats somewhat assigned to us. The great thing about Mr. Johnson is that he allowed us to choose where ever we wanted to sit and let us make the rules to the class in the most logical way; once we decided and were full hearted about it we were stuck with it. This made me love having him as a homeroom teacher. He treated us like adults unlike everyone else.

"Good morning class." He says with his strong European accent.

"Good morning Mr. Johnson" we all chime as if in a choir.

"As you may have noticed today I have put a lot of effort into what I am wearing."

"Yeah, I thought so. What motivated you?" Christian says from the back row.

"I have found out that there will be a visitor in the building today." He says rolling his eyes.

He was talking about the school board officials. They always tend to come at the worse times. Whenever an official is in the building all of the teachers become anal about every little thing. If you forget a period in a sentence you get three detentions. I'm being serious Mr. Trotsky my English teacher gave me three detentions last time they were here because I forgot a period when I wrote a response on the board. Of course it was his class. He is the one teacher that hates me more than a child hates vegetables. Hopefully today he isn't an ass and is extremely nice to me because I'm leaving. We'll see.

"But that is not the reason for this." He says with a smile. Boy do I love his smile.

"Then why mention the visitor." Shelly asks.

"To warn you not to skip any classes, to be polite to your 'favorite' teachers, and to prepare you for all the detentions some of you will get."

The class laughs.

"But on a serious note I am letting you know that today is the last day for our lovely Juliana. And so, I decided to dress up to give her a beautiful final impression." He says with his dazzling smile.

The class begins to whisper. No one knew I was leaving except for Kristen of course. I was hoping to become the talk of the school and just stop showing up. That way they'd all think different stories of why I stopped coming. This was supposed to be my chance to become a rebel in a sense. I imagined everything that could come from my disappearance. 'I heard that she got pregnant by some college graduate and now she lives in San Francisco.' Or 'I heard she ran away to New York to become a famous actress.' I like the running away one better but you know once girls disappear from school they typically get the pregnant talk.

The bell rings and the whole class stand up each person saying good bye to me as they walk through the door. This actually is a lot better than sneaking away and waiting for Kristen to tell me all the rumors that were going around. Mr. Johnson stops me at the door. He hands me an envelope with the cutest little smirk on his face. 'Don't open until you leave' was printed on the front.

"Have a nice day" he says to me.

"You too." I reply.

In all honesty I just hope that one day I get to see him again. After all he is my favorite teacher.

I stare at the moving van filled with all of my stuff. This is a bitter sweet moment for me. I don't want to leave my home but I can't wait to see my dad. I absolutely love my dad. Unlike my mother he gives me space and knows that I am a growing adult and that there are things that I want to talk about when the time is right. He owns a diner in forks so that means I will never be hungry so that is a plus. He is an amazing cook as well as a great guy. I don't know how my mother managed to let go of him.

The drive there took forever…my legs felt numb and my neck was stiff. My excited heart was pounding as we pulled into the driveway. There is a sign posted 'Welcome Home Jules!' on the front door. I could only imagine what is inside. I knock on the door and it slowly opens on its own. A surprise party maybe? I slowly walk into the house waiting for everyone to jump out and say 'Welcome home!' I really hate surprise parties. They always seem to catch me off guard.

"Hello?" I ask expecting someone to answer like the white girls in scary movies. No one replied like I thought. I turn on the light switch to the right of the door waiting to see all the people jump out. Once again nothing happened. Maybe my dad forgot I was coming today. Which if he did is completely ridiculous because I spoke to him about ten hours ago. Oh well I guess I will unpack then head to the diner to see what time he gets off if he is working. The house is cleaned as always which makes moving in easy. The movers and my mom help me lift every box up to my room. It's cute, my room that is, painted a nice pail purple and a queen sized bed sitting in the corner. He managed to get the sheets to match the curtains color wise which surprises me (seeing as he's a guy and all). Everything looks amazing I am extremely proud.

The Lamp sits peacefully on the night stand to the right of my bed. A door that leads to a balcony type set up directly across from my bed lets a little bit of light into the room. There's a beau with a mirror containing various perfumes and lotions next to my closet. I guess he wasn't sure if I would bring the ones I already had at home. Fortunate for me he left the closet open and the draws empty which means I don't have to turn down his taste in clothing.

Once we had all of the boxes in my room I looked around for the box labeled _clothes_ so I could take a shower and head to the diner. My mother knocks on the open door interrupting me from my search for my missing treasure.

"Honey, are you sure you want to move back?" she sighs.

"Yes mom I'm sure. Don't worry, I will be visiting you as much as I possibly can." I say with a little smile on my face.

"Ok well I'm going to head home now. Come give me a kiss." She says opening her arms for me to come in.

We lock arms and hold each other for a while. I don't want to let go of her. If only she could stay here too, but I know that is only something you get in a dream. Letting her go I turn around as tears form in my eyes. She slowly walks away; I know she is crying as much as I am about to.

I feel refreshed as dry off my curly brown hair. My skin smooth from one of the lotions my dad got for me. I decided to wear my pink dress similar to the one Kristen was wearing. No polka dots and instead of a sash I had a black belt. I wore the same shoes she had on because we bought the dresses and shoes together a few weeks ago. This was the first time I managed to put this on. I curled my hair and the light highlights mixed with my natural brown hair managed to look amazing. I snapped a pick and sent it to Kristen. 'Just figured you should share this moment with me' I sent to her.

I stare into the mirror admiring the dress. The way it hugs my torso perfectly and releasing around the waste. The color compliments my hair well and my hazel brown eyes give off a more innocent look. The sound of my phone vibrating interrupts my fascination with myself.

'OMG SEXYYY! ;)' Kristen texted me. The text caused me to blush. I know in my inner mind I am somewhat conceited, but my self-esteem isn't the highest in reality. It is 6:30 I guess it's time to check on my dad. I grab my new set of keys put aside for me. I get drawn aback as the beautiful shades of purple and pink blend as the bright orange sun sets in the horizon. The gentle breeze makes the walk to the diner seem worth it. Although I am somewhat afraid of walking alone at night this setting makes all my fears fade away. I can smell all of the fall scents. It's amazing how time flies by I'm still amazed it is mid-November. The weather here expresses the season a lot louder than LA does. It's chillier and my nose is turning pink. Should've grabbed a sweater huh?

It doesn't take too long to get to the diner seeing as it is only a few blocks from the house. Shows a little bit of my dad's lazy side. The building is oddly different, it no longer has the old school diner them. Now it looks like a mini restaurant. Outside repaneled showing off the brick lining. The windows are a lot larger now allowing you to see into the building in certain areas. Strangely most of the lights are off. "Maybe he's closing early to spend time with me" I say with the biggest smile on my face. I walk up the steps leading to the entrance, my heart races anxiously. I push on the door allowing me to walk into the dark mini hallway.*Ding Ding.* The next door is already opened awaiting anyone hungry enough to extend his early hours. I stand at the sign stating 'Please Wait to be Seated.'

There is no one within three feet of me. I become impatient so I decide to let invite myself into the back room. This could be my first time scaring my dad with something reasonable. My inner spy kicks in and I sneak my way to the door leading to the kitchen. I peak around the corner and see a light in the distance he must be in the break room. Slowly I tiptoe into the kitchen. I have to make it to the wall before he comes out of the room. My body speeds up some and I make it to the wall before the light shuts off. Suddenly my guide disappears and I am in total darkness. This is do or die time; I have to scare him before he accidently scares me. I turn the corner and enter the room. It is extremely dark and I don't remember where the light switch is located. I take a deep breath and try to allow my eyes to adjust to the room. I hear something rustle in the corner. "Dad" I whisper hoping for a response. Nothing. Maybe this isn't dad closing the diner. Someone could be breaking in. Suddenly my heart rate speeds up. I stop in the middle of my hunt and I'm frozen from fear.*Flash* the lights turn on and I am suddenly blinded.


	2. New World

Chapter 2 New World

I'm blinded everything is suddenly so bright. My heart is racing as I feel the end of my existence near. Suddenly there are voices. "Welcome home!" A group of people shout. My vision is starting to come back and the whole back room is filled with people. I lost again. My dad managed to scare the crap out of me and put a huge smile on my face as well. My heart rate slows down and there's a huge smile on my face. Tears slowly fall down my face. Half of the reason is because I thought I was going to die the other half is from the excitement. My dad walks toward me from the light switch. He's smiling bigger than he has in years. I guess he really wants me to be here with him. I feel the warmth of his body suddenly wrap around me. I hold tight as I try to contain the tears. "Sorry honey." He whispers to me. He's feeling bad about the situation, good. I release my grip on him so I could get a look at his face. He stares down at me his green eyes as bright as the lights.

"Dad you got me again." I say with a little bit of happiness in my tone.

"Yes I know. You have to say it's a great way to start your new life." He says chuckling.

"It's different I wouldn't say great." I say pushing him gently away from me.

We exchange happy smiles and a few giggles. Then he walks away and mingles with the people he invited to scare the crap out of me. I guess this is how I will meet people here. I walk over to a young boy with dirty blonde hair. He dresses very sophisticatedly. He's wearing a dress shirt that has a red plaid pattern to it. Over it is a late colored sweater. He wears dark jeans to keep his outfit more casual than business. I was expecting him to wear dress shoes but he had black sneakers on. They weren't too flashy so I guess it keeps with his look.

I tap him on the shoulder and he turns around. His eyes are bluish grey. He has long dark eyelashes. His eye brows dark as well and well groomed. He has pretty good sized lips for a white boy. He smiles at me a very welcoming smile.

"Hello Juliana." He says with a European accent similar to Mr. Johnson's.

"Hi, may I ask who you are." I say in the politest tone I could come with, a little irritated that he called me by my first name without introducing himself.

"Of course, sorry that was impolite of me, my name is Jeremiah." He says with a smile.

He corrected himself as if he read my mind. Kudos to you Jeremiah, I like you already. "Nice to meet you Jeremiah, I was looking around and noticed you are one of the youngest people here so I figured I'd approach you first." I say honestly.

"That's fine I completely understand. It is weird moving to a new place not knowing anyone is the worse part." He says. "But fortunate for you, I shall help you make as many friends as you possibly can."

"How so?" I ask somewhat interested in his offer.

"I am part of the new student committee, and so I help all new students get comfortable and familiar with the school and how it works."

Interesting! This is actually a pretty good start. I remember when I noticed a new student at WWHS no one helped them get familiar with the function of the school. It was pretty much a 'here's your schedule, this is where each of your classes are located, everything else you'll catch on to' kind of thing. Although I typically enjoy keeping to myself having a few friends here wouldn't hurt; at least someone to eat lunch with and show me where to go when I want to escape classes. He probably is a goody two shoes so I will not ask him.

"So tomorrow you will show me around the school?"

"Tomorrow?" He asks a little confused.

"Yes I start tomorrow."

"No you don't tomorrow the school is closed due to a teachers' assembly." He smiled "But I will show you around Monday."

Holy Crap. I don't have school until Monday. What am I going to do for the next couple of days? I guess I can explore the city. Not like I really need to I pretty much know where all the important places are from the times I came to visit. It's different now though, this is during school time so I can see what people do on their days off and possibly make a friend or two that could carry over for Monday. This actually may have been a gift from the heavens. I hated being here for the summer. No one was typically around because they preferred going to LA or somewhere with better weather. I won't lie it wasn't raining all summer it's just not that hot here. I can still feel the cold from outside. I need to invest in a lot of long sleeved and thick fabric clothing.

"Ok see you then." I say finally noticing he was still standing in front of me.

"Ok I will be waiting outside the office so once you are all set getting a schedule and everything I will be there to bring you to your first class."

I smile at him letting him know I understand and slowly make my way to the rest of the party. Maybe he is just a good looking face. Something in my gut is telling me to keep my distance. A light bulb appears above my head. "He's just like Mary!" I say out loud to myself. I pull out my phone texting Kristen the news of the new school snitch. I truly miss her. I can't believe we are so many miles away from each other once again. I miss mom too even though she just left a few hours ago. These first few nights are going to be hell. I can already feel the pain from the restless night. I have to try to adapt quickly. I only have until Monday to get the sleep thing right. Going to school after a restless night does not end well for me.

Everyone at the party eventually introduce themselves to me so I could know I have a friend if I need one (even though they were mainly over 18). It was a great night Dad got me a cake and the night ended with a dance off between two of the diner workers. Surprisingly, the party helped make me feel more at home. I just hope everyone at the school treats me like these people have.

I roll out of bed at 7AM. My body still use to going to school on Friday mornings. I guess today would start normally. I grab my towel and tooth brush and enter the bathroom. I run the water allowing it to heat up. My eyes still look a little sleepy hopefully this shower will help fix that. I notice a bottle of bubble bath sitting above the toilet. I smell it to see if I will take a nice relaxing bath instead seeing as I have the day to myself. It smells amazing! It is lilac scented, which is pretty good because I really like lilacs. Adjust the water accordingly and set up my first bubble bath in almost a month. Once the water reaches the height I see fit, I slowly entered the water.

The steam fogs up the bathroom. This is relaxing. My mind drifts to fond memories of when I lived in LA. I miss it there. Slowly I sink lower into the water and rest my head on the side of the bath tub. I feel as though I am meditating in a quiet hot spring. Closing my eyes I allow my vivid imagination take over the scene. My new bathroom suddenly becomes a hot spring in Japan. The beautiful scenery that the country provides surrounds me. This is what I call heaven. In my vision I close my eyes to feel more at peace.

There's a splash. I open my eyes and I see the figure of a man entering the water. This is odd. I stare at him trying to make out his face. He sits there staring with a big smile on his face. The sharpness of his canines amazes me. He has a brilliant smile. Somehow I am attracted to him. My body starts pulsating and I have the urge to get closer. Slowly I make my way toward him inch by inch. He gets closer and closer. I like this feeling. I'm only a few inches away now. My breath is rough as if I had just finished a jog. I can't see his face only a black figure. The only part of him vivid in my mind is his smile. I reach for him wanting to know the feeling of his skin against mine. As I touch he shatters.

I look around wondering if anyone has seen what had happened. No one is around me. Reaching under the water I feel for the pieces of the man that was once in front of me. There's nothing to be found. I hear a laugh in the distance. Standing on a large rock on the other side of the spring is the figure again. This time his smile seeming to be more devilish. Again my body calls to be near him. I make my way to the rock. Looking up at it I search for a way to climb up. The figure watches me with great interest. I see ridges in which I could use to get to the top. Slowly I begin my climb familiarizing myself with the feeling and strange patterns of this rock. As my body gains confidence I climb faster and faster. I can see the top now only one more to go. I reach for it and suddenly I fall.

I splash into the water. The water rushes around me. I can feel my body sinking deeper and deeper into the water. This is unusual. The spring is now a lake sinking deeper and deeper until I reach the bottom. I can no longer hold my breath. This is the end for me. I open my eyes to find a way up. I see a light that only seems inches away. I swim toward it hoping it is a submarine or something to save me.

I emerge from underneath the water in my bath tub. Gasping for air my fanaticized world becomes reality. What is wrong with me I wonder? As I realize I fell asleep in the bath. I stand up allowing my body to stretch out. "Well I guess that's a sign for me to get the heck out of this house." Gripping the chain below the water I release the drain letting my lake to drain into the small pipes within the house. My towel hangs on the side wall. I use it to dry my body completely. Finally I wrap it around my body as I stare into the mirror. My skin seems to be glowing with excitement. That's much better, earlier I looked dead. I pull my tooth brush out of the cup holding it and rummage through the medicine cabinet for the toothpaste. Once I find it I begin to brush my teeth.

Twenty minutes later I am fully dressed and ready to go. Seeing as it has been pretty cold here I dressed in dark jeans and a burgundy and navy, long sleeved, striped, V-neck sweater. I put on my burgundy fedora with my curls falling gracefully underneath it. My matching navy Vans finish off my look. Although I usually wear jewelry and other cosmetic items to keep my look model like; I figured today should be a subtle day I will dress just enough to catch someone's attention.

Stepping out of the front door I feel a breeze caress my warm skin. Good think I'm smart enough to keep a scarf in my bag. I quickly wrap it around my neck keeping me warm. There is a park a few blocks from here that must be where most people are around this time. Maybe I should check in with that Jeremiah kid. I look through my text messages searching for the text he sent me last night. How he got my number is beyond me. I second think my next move as I enter a short sweet little 'hello'. My inner mind stands in front of me now starting a conversation with me.

"You know what will happen next right?" She says

"Of course, we will walk the park together and possibly make me some new friends."

"Girl, you must be out of your mind." She says shaking her head at me.

"Yeah, I know what you mean… But… I really need someone to help me start off…"

Pointing her finger at me now. "You are not a dependent! Now take your independent ass to the park." She stomps her foot showing she means business.

I shrug my shoulders knowing that if I text him now I will never escape. The park isn't that far. It's only 10a.m. and I'm sure there will be someone there sitting alone. I guess I have no other choice. Locking the door I take my ass to the park, alone. The birds that are sticking it out through this cold weather chirp happily in the trees. I wish I could fly like a bird, go where ever I want to without a care in the world. Maybe fly back home to see how Kristen is doing. The park is pretty live. There are more people here then I assumed. I love the energy that it gives.

A mother and father are playing with their children catch my attention. They're beautiful. The children managed to get the great features each parent had. Their mothers beautiful blonde hair, their fathers smile, their eyes green like the sea. They're lucky; they have a beautiful little girl and a handsome boy fairly close in age. I wonder what my children will look like. I hope he or she gets most of my features.

I slowly walk along the path in the park. Strangely there aren't many teens here, mainly adults and children. I guess my version of fun is a lot different than the people here. They are probably out smoking, drinking, or doing something at some mall. I do like doing things like that, but I feel like mornings are meant to be spent peacefully at a park or beach. I'm in the middle of the park and I hear an obnoxious laugh. My inner mind stands beside me looking around to find the bitch who should be arrested for disturbing my peace. I hope she keeps her peace when we find her. Hopefully I find her first.

A girl about my age comes running from the trees. She's laughing as one of her friends chase her. I found the laugh. I won this round. A victory smile appears on my face. The girl stops when she sees me. He mouth drops open in awe. She's fairly pretty. Her black hair is straightened. She has typical eyes, dark brown that appear to be black. I don't like her nose too much; it's the one thing that ruins her face. My inner mind glares at her.

"Who is this bitch looking at like that" she says.

"Hello" I say to her stopping the fight that was playing through my mind.

"Hey, I'm Rebecca. You're new around here, aren't you?" She says with a smile on her face.

"Yes I just moved in with my dad yesterday." I say trying to keep this conversation going. My inner mind lifts her hand wanting to back slap me for talking to her. She really hates her laugh.

"Oh how cute! Where at?" She is extremely excited.

"A few blocks from here. He owns the diner close by."

As soon as I say that her face lights up as if being told that she has won the lottery. Her friend reaches us now. He stares at me in the same awe. I guess they don't get many new people here. He is a lot cuter, curly brown hair, blue eyes, pail white skin. He is worth being a first boyfriend from here. I guess this girl may have to stay clear from me if this is her current love interest. I wave to him sweetly. He waves back taken aback by my kind gesture.

"My name is Juliana." I say breaking the awkward silence.

"Nice to meet you" Becca says.

"I'm Jordan" He finally manages to say.

"So do you guys go to high school here?" I ask hoping to create some friends to carry to school.

"Yes we're juniors." She says extremely proud of herself.

"Great! Me too!"

"Cool want to hang out with us, we could be the first to welcome you to Forks." She replies with the dippiest tone.

I could do this. They seem pretty cool. I don't like how dippy she is but I could deal. I'm pretty sure they aren't as high ranked in school as I was in WWHS, but that's fine. I can manage to make it as a loser. At least they are cool. I can't wait to start school. I wonder how the teachers are here. The students must be pretty much the same as the WWHS students. I guess I will have a smaller selection of friends but that is fine. I don't need the stress that comes with the friends. Especially if I want to get out of Forks before I'm 30.

They lead me to a picnic they have set aside for themselves. They offer me food but I don't know them enough to eat it. We sit on the blanket and chat. They tell me the basics of the school letting me know what's in and what's out, how to get by, and when it would be best to sneak off. I guess they are a lot cooler than I thought. They provide all the answers that I needed. We continue talking for a few hours. We discuss everything from fashion to politics. I really enjoy their presence. I at my phone, its 1:30. I managed to kill a lot of time. I stand up getting ready to continue my journey.

"It was great meeting you two but I have to get going. I have a few errands to run. Is there a way we could keep in contact." I say sweetly hoping they don't catch on to my white lie.

"We could exchange numbers and keep in touch especially on your first day." Michael says extremely eager.

Rebecca gives him a dirty look as if he just asked me to fuck. I smile sweetly trying to keep the peace. "That would be amazing but I don't know if I should give my number to you. Don't want your girlfriend getting the wrong idea." I say with a smirk on my face.

She turns red realizing I caught her vibes. "He doesn't have a girlfriend." She tries to hid her face hoping he doesn't see her change in pigment.

"Oh Really? Well then I guess that would be fine then." I pull out my phone getting ready to enter in their numbers.

Rebecca manages to smile. I'm sure she feels threatened by me. I will use this to my advantage. We exchange numbers quickly. With a kind wave good bye I continue on with my stroll around town. I should find some food to keep my energy up. Going to dad's diner would be the first thing on my mind during my typical summer visits, but not today I need to experience this place on my own. I check my wallet to see how much money I have on me. Luckily I have enough to grab something quick to eat. If it doesn't hold me over I could just head to the diner and grab some free food.

It starts to become cloudy. Everyone at the park seems to know that their bust of sunlight is officially done for the rest of the week. I can see everyone packing up to head home for the rest of the day. Reaching the end of the park I notice a little café across the street. Shelter and food, how convenient is that? I make my way across the street. Crossing the street you can smell the various pastries and coffees being made there. My mouth starts to water before I reach the doors. Posted on the door is a sign stating that they are having a couple's special. '_Two free sandwiches with any purchase of a pastry and drink for any couple that enters between 1-3.'_

This must be my lucky day! All I have to do is get some guy to go in with me to buy some food and I can get a free sandwich, a pastry and a drink. Who would pass up a meal on a snack budget? Casually I walk into the café. There is a hostess standing at her podium kindly greeting me.

"Welcome to Mint Café!" the hostess says.

"Hello. This is my first time here. My boyfriend and I were just in the neighborhood and I noticed this adorable little café as we were walking through the park. Can you tell me a little about the specials you have?" I lie trying to stall time.

"Well today we have the free sandwich deal for any couple that comes in around this time. Also we have a special fall flavors to keep up with the season." She says showing off her beautiful smile.

You could tell she was hired off her looks. She has beautiful curly auburn hair. He eyes large and green. She has perfect lips and a perfect nose. I'm amazed how the little uniform fits to her body perfectly. I couldn't help but awe at her beauty. She doesn't even have much makeup on, only eyeliner.

"That's great! Is there a place I could wait at? My boyfriend is just getting something out of the car and I don't want him to come in and not know where I am." I say sweetly.

"We could actually seat you at a table now and when he comes in we will kindly direct him to the table. Is that ok?" She still manages to have the same welcoming voice she had when in entered the building.

"That will be great actually." I say with a sweet smile.

In my head I'm wondering how long it will take for the next single man to walk in the café. Is she going to ask him who he is or just seat him with me? What if no one shows up for the next hour? This is such a bad idea. How could I lie to this kind person? What will I do if no one shows up? All of these questions rerun through my head until I sit at the table. My heart is racing my blood is heating up. She walks away heading back to the entrance waiting for someone to walk in. My mind does a 360 as soon as she leaves. I have to find a way to reverse this situation and make it into some kind of _he stood me up situation._ The time ticks soon three minutes pass. I could see her peeking at me. I look out the walls and decorations to keep my eyes from making full contact with her.

There is a shadow of a figure over my right shoulder. My peripheral vision catches it before I hear the voice. I begin to sweat. My plan is going to fail isn't it? I look over to see the hostess.

"Your date has arrived." She says with a sweet smile.

Behind her is a young man about my age. He has a beautiful butter pecan skin tone with amazing hazel eyes. His lips are full and luscious. I begin to melt in my skin. He stares at me completely confused. He towers over the hostess, almost six feet.

"Excuse me." He speaks. Oh no he is going to blow my cover.


	3. Stranger

Chapter 3: Strangers

"Excuse me." He says. I close my eyes hoping that everything turns out right. He speaks the exact words I fear. My heart is racing as I realize that my plan has failed. His words echo in my ear, "I don't know this girl." I think I can find a way to cover this up. I need to fix the situation. I won't make a fool out of myself. Quickly I stand up allowing the light to show more of my physical features. If my looks can't make him stay then he must be gay. My inner mind takes over causing a whole new persona.

"Honey you really need to wear your glasses. It's me." I sternly talk to him. "Thank you for bringing him to me. He really needs to wear his glasses when we are out. This happens all of the time." I chuckle a little after to make the story sound more convincing.

She smiles at us then laughs a little. "Well, have fun you too." She says as she walks back to the podium.

I stand there staring at this stranger. My inner mind is strangely calm and welcoming to him. She looks at him with the puppy dog eyes I gave my mother whenever I wanted to get a new toy. He is very attractive. I think that I've fallen for him. He has this confidence about him that draws me in. My body begins to heat up and I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I want to lean in and kiss him, but he is a stranger after all. He stares at me extremely confused. I motion for him to take a seat. As we both sit down I try to think of a way to explain this to him.

"I know this may seem a little strange to you. I figure I should give you an explanation." I say sweetly.

"_Lie"_ I tell myself as I begin the conversation

"Go on." He says sternly noticing the pause.

"Well you have to come closer I don't want them to know I told you."

He looks around noticing there were a few different couples I the area around me. He doesn't move hinting to me he doesn't want to get any closer. I guess I could tell him a little quietly.

"Well, I am not from around here." I say truthfully. "But, there are these guys who have been chasing after me for some time now. I didn't notice it before because I was too young but I know now that since my parents split up these men have been following me."

He looks at me as if he knows I am lying. "Is that so?"

"Yes… And I came to Forks because my dad is here. I didn't know until now but these men are the reason my parents had to separate. They threatened my life. I just want to see my father again. He must be so torn to have not seen his baby girl for fourteen years." I look down at the table trying to make the scene a little more dramatic. It also gives me time to think.

He seems to soften a little, His stern look fades and he seems a little concerned. He looks around to see if anyone had noticed our strange behavior.

"Then why are you getting me involved?" He asks.

"I'm not trying to get you involved… technically… I just need you to help keep my cover. If you don't mind that is." I say sweetly.

Suddenly he starts laughing at me. "You're full of shit!" he says somewhat loudly. By then the lady comes to take our orders. We had not looked at the menu this whole time and I did not know what to order. I think of all my other café experiences and just think of the normal. It was a little strange to me having someone wait on me in a café I typically just grab something and go but I guess it is ok.

"Hello there my name is Stacy and I will be your waitress for the time being. Could I start you off with something to drink?"

"Yes I would like a cup of green tea." I say thinking of the wonderful taste.

"I guess I will have a cup of coffee. He says rolling his eyes at her.

The girl smiles at him happily as if she didn't notice the rude expression. I wonder if she finds him as attractive as I do. I wish I could read her mind to see what she is thinking. I wish I could see what he was thinking. She smiles at us then walks away going to get our drinks.

"I can tell that you're bull shitting me." He finally says breaking the silence.

"You really don't believe me?" I say somewhat offended.

"Yes. I always know when people lie to me. I know everything." He says tensing up again.

"I am not lying to you." I lie.

"If you say so." He says looking around.

The waitress walks toward us with our drinks on a tray.

"Are you guys ready to order?"

We look at the menu quickly and order our meals. I chose a ham and cheese on whole wheat bread and a cheese Danish. His was fairly similar he ordered a turkey sandwich on a potato roll and a cinnamon roll. Thinking that over they aren't as similar as I originally thought they were. As we sit and wait for the sandwiches to come we have a nice little discussion while drinking our hot drinks.

"So how old are you?" he asks.

"Seventeen and you?"

"I am turning eighteen soon." He says looking at the clock.

"You must be excited…." I pause realizing we never exchanged names.

"Not as excited as you would think. This coming of age thing is getting old."

Shocked I slam my hands on the table becoming a little more animated. "Are you serious! You are turning eighteen so you can pretty much do anything you want besides drink legally! Why are you not excited!?"

He is drawn aback and attempts to raise an eyebrow at me. It twitches but it does not raise the way he had hoped. I start to giggle a little. He notices that I caught on to it and he smiles at me.

"Well if you are so enthusiastic about it I guess I could try." He smiles his brilliant smile at me. I feel like my body is about to melt.

Right now I notice all of the beautiful things in the café. The windows have a burnt orange trim and the walls are a redish brown. All the tables and chairs are made out of mahogany wood. The pillows that you sit on are a deep honey color. The floors are granite. The whole café is full of nice warm colors and the décor is beautiful and extremely welcoming. There were potted plants in every corner of the room and the chandeliers hanging above each table.

This is such a beautiful place for a first date. If only this was really a first date. I stare at him infatuated with his looks this is a beautiful man. He stares at me. His body is tenser than it was when he first came in. His jaw appears to be clenched as if holding back something to say. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask.

"I've got to go he says." Grasping his mouth and throwing money on the table.

He pushes his seat back and quickly makes his way out the door. I watch as the light from outside brightens the podium area and this stranger is no longer visible. The waitress has perfect timing and comes bringing our meals.

"Bathroom break she asks?"

"No he got sick. Is there a way I could get that to go?"

She frowns at me feeling bad that we had just got here. "I'm sorry… I hope he gets better soon. Of course I could pack this to go. Let me get you your bill."

She walks away with the trays in her hand still. I watch as this kind woman disappears around the corner leading who knows where. I wonder if it was me. Do I smell? It's strange. He was fine a few minutes ago. Maybe it was the coffee. The waitress comes back almost instantly with brown boxes wrapped with little red bows on them.

"Here you go" she says placing the boxes down on the table. "Your total is going to be $4.59" she says sweetly as she hands me the bill.

I review it seeing if there were any mistakes. The bill seemed fairly low. "I think you made a mistake. You didn't charge for the pastries."

"No they're complimentary. Let's just hope they are still warm when he gets his appetite back." She says with the most innocent little smile on her face.

"Thank you so much." I say gratefully. I collect his money and it adds up to $20. I could never be so extremely selfish by using all of his money on the food. I take a ten and leave it on the table. Then I go into my purse and pull out a five. The waitress looks at me a little confused by my gesture. Handing her the bill and the cash I thank her and grab my things. "Keep the change. You were great and deserve every cent."

I make my way to the door. The hostess was already holding the door open for me because of the four boxes in my hands. I thank her and make my way toward the park. I guess it is time for me to head home. The thought of the strange boy running out of the café worried me. I wonder if I will ever see him again. I have to return his money to him after all and give him an extra $5 for the tip. One thing I could say I respected about my parents is their sense of respect. At a young age I was taught morality and the manners that are proper for every situation. Choosing when to use these qualities was based off my judgment of the situation. For the most part I used them in public areas and at home, as for school and with friends I was a little bit of a bitch at times. The park is the exact opposite of what it was when I first entered it earlier today. I quickly pick up my speed not wanting to be alone any longer in this town.

_My dad's husky voice calls me into the kitchen. The smell of all the spices and juices filling the house causes my mouth to water. I walk into the kitchen and the lights are off. A small cake awaits for me. My has a big smile on her face, my dad just as happy holding the cake in his hands. A big number '3' lit on top of the beautifully decorated cake. The purple and pink roses surrounded my name so beautifully I just didn't know what to do but cry. Tears started following down my face as they began to sing: "Hap-py Birth-day to you. Hap-py Birth-day to you. Hap-py Birth-day Dear Ju-li-ana. Hap-py Birth-day to you." Once they finished I blew out my candle and wished that we would be together forever._

I guess wishes don't always come true…


	4. Details

Chapter 4: Details

"Hi! My name is Juliana and I am going to be your waitress today. Could I start you off with something to drink?" The false excitement in my tone of voice is unbearable. It has been a week and a half since I moved in and I am now working two jobs. Aside from all the responsibilities throw at me all at once I am extremely exhausted from the endless nightmares. The intensity of each gets worse as time goes on. At first I could deal with the mysterious man staying as far away from me as he possibly could, those dreams are amateur compared to the ones I have now. It all started the day I met that stranger.

My dad has me working as a waitress at his diner and of course he springs this on me after I accepted the offer to work at Mint Café. At least there I am only a hostess and here I am learning to interact with the customers more. Verona Diner is the official name for dad's diner even though most people call it Nate's Diner because my dad's name is Nathaniel. I ask him why he named it Verona Diner it's such an odd name for such a place, but every time he would only smile at me and say "You'll know when the time comes." I don't understand why he always makes everything into some kind of game or challenge for me. I wish just one time he would give me an answer and send me on my way.

Carrying a tray with four drinks on it to the family of four I had just introduced myself made it hard to keep my mind from wandering to that day. The steam from the father's coffee reminds me of my encounter at Mint Café. The image of the gorgeous stranger who sat across from me and instantly disappeared into the darkness of that rainy afternoon is forever burned into my brain. I just wish I could at least know his name. I sigh as I appear over the family. The mother gives me a look that says 'If you hate your job then quit', quickly I realize my flaw and I start a conversation.

"Don't you hate when there's something picking at your brain and you just can't figure out what it is." I say with an innocent look on my face.

"Oh honey I know exactly what you mean." She replies as her mood changes.

"It's like all day something has been picking at me and once I get close enough to know what it is, it suddenly runs away." I laugh a little showing that I'm over it. "Anyways aside from my life how are you gentlemen doing with the menus?" I ask as I see the three boys still trying to decide what they want to eat.

"I think I want a supreme burger!" the youngest one says.

"It's not like you will eat it all." the slightly older one says with a dullness to his voice.

"I have before!" he retorts sticking his tongue out at his older brother.

I chuckle a little enjoying the sibling dispute that is going on before me.

"Boys simmer down. Joey remember if you want dissert you have to finish your meal and Adler remember that it is not nice to bring down your brother's self-confidence." She says sternly in her maternal voice.

"Honey, what do you think about the grilled chicken grinder?" The father says.

"Greg, you're a grown man you should figure out what you want to eat." She says with a sigh.

I smile at her as she shakes her head in disbelieve of the boys surrounding her. She smiles back as we share a mutual "Boys will be boys." I like this lady she has this maternal vibe to her that makes me feel at home.

"Should I give them a few more minutes?" I ask hoping she'd say no and start up a conversation on how they always do this.

"If you have another table waiting on you, go on sweetie. I'm sure these boys will be drooling over the menus for another five minutes." She replies with a little laughter in her voice.

"I will be back in a few minutes. Boys you better decide soon you don't know who will take that last piece of steak by the time your mind is made up." I say winking as I finish my sentence.

Walking to my other table I realize that time has flown by. It is already 7:30 which means my shift will be ending soon. I hope they decide something soon so I'm not forced to trade off with Sophia and miss saying good bye. Dad has a strange policy with his workers. No matter what how many customers you are waiting on, when your time is up, you time is up. He feels that it is not fair to you or the customers if you are forced to stay past your scheduled shift, because when that happens you give the customer attitude and then they feel unwelcomed at the diner. I guess he has this strict treat someone the way you would like to be treated policy going on. I check up on the table noticing they are stuffing their face with the infamous chilly cheese potato my dad makes.

"How's everything guys?"

"Grreat" the beefy looking jock says mouth full of potato and chilly.

"Hey Eddie that's rude don't talk to a lady with your mouth food." The skinnier one with the letter C on his varsity jacket replies. He is very attractive. The sharpness of his facial features makes me blush a little by his compliment as I stare into his eyes.

"You better listen to your captain before he reports you to the coach." I reply laughing off redness in my face.

"I'd sit on him before he has the chance." Eddie replies after swallowing the last of his food.

I couldn't help but laugh at the self-made joke about his weight. To think I see these guys in the halls and never noticed their sense of humor. I guess I am like most people; I begin my judgment off their looks without giving them a chance to prove themselves to me. I raise my hand for a high five showing that I loved the joke. Suddenly I am lifted into the air by the very boy who was stating how he was going to use his weight to sit on somebody.

"Oh no you don't! You ain't getting off that easy" he says spinning me around in the air.

"Put her down. Eddie, this is not the proper place to lift people up into the air. Plus she is still working and you don't even know her." The captain says putting his hand across his had showing he is a little stressed.

His face snaps into reality as he realizes that his captain was right. He gently puts me back onto the floor and puts his head down the way a puppy does when he knows he's about to get in trouble for chewing the newspaper. It's kind of cute to see this gentle giant in action, he's extremely animated. I look at him and smile trying to lighten up the mood. He smiles back innocently and I'm suddenly bursting with laughter.

"It's hard to keep my composure if you're going to look at me like that." I say laughing at his attempt to look innocent. He surely joins me in the laughter imagining how he looks to me.

"I guess I look a little idiotic don't I?" he replies to me.

"No it's just you're a lot different than one would assume. But I guess I will catch up with you guys in a few enjoy the rest of your meal." I smile at him showing that it's ok and head back to my family of four.

"So are you guys ready to order?" I ask holding back the giggles forming in my throat.

"Jen I just really don't know what I want." Greg says.

"Sweetie I told you these men got five more minutes to go." She says chuckling at her husband's indecisiveness.

"Could I recommend the Steak combo?" I offer him hoping that it would help him out a little. "It comes with rice, corn, and a baked potato, you could substitute it for the chilly chees one if you'd like.

"Sounds good to me!" he says happy that someone helped him make a decision.

I take down the orders of all the members in the family. The children end up ordering the basics off the kid's menu: _Hot Dog with Chilly and a side of fries and Chicken nuggets with a side of mac and chees._ I love the personality of this family. It is so commercialized, as if it belongs on the Disney Channel. I really wish my family was like theirs.

I hang my coat up as I enter my house after my shift. I run up to my room excited to take off my waitress outfit and get into something comforting. As I change I realize I have a new text message. It's from my mom.

'_Hey honey hope everything is ok. I love you. Call me when you get home.'_ Wow. I am so amazed that she actually texted me instead of calling and leaving a voice mail. Looking through my notifications on my phone I noticed I spoke too soon. Three missed calls from her, two voice mail messages and of course the text. I even have a missed call from Kristen. I really miss her. Every day since I've lived here we found some way of getting in contact with each other to plan our run away. It is hard to live in this new world not knowing anyone and knowing that your best friend is as lost as you are in the place you've once lived. So far we've come up with taking a plane to New York and sailing to Hawaii. I wouldn't mind either places. Our worst case scenario is getting to Alaska, training ten dogs and living life as Eskimos in an igloo somewhere in the outskirts of town. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that is how desperate we are.

I want to call her back but I am extremely exhausted from school and work, even though I only worked for four hours. On top of that I have an essay to do for my English teacher about my opinion on fictitious characters, to go with our section on Real versus Non-Real. I guess I could come up with some kind of opinion based off of characters I've seen as a child. Batman because he seems to be the best character to work off of seeing as he is extremely popular. I would do Minnie Mouse but every girl in the class probably picks the average cartoons.

I sit on my bed and open up a notebook to outline my essay. Since I was in middle school I've found that if I outline the essay first then take a shower I typically find the exact words I need to make the essay a whole. I look over at the money in a glad bag on the table beside my bed. I wonder if I would ever see this guy again. As I'm drawing out the outline visions of that day flash in my head. My eyes begin to weigh down on me and I feel uncomfortable. I adjust myself to get in a more comforting position. Slowly I begin to drift in and out of the world and my dreams. Everything goes black. My body lay on my bed knocked out from exhaustion.

My alarm rings loudly telling me it is time to get ready for school. I roll over to turn it off mentally thinking if I should hit snooze or not. As I click the button I feel a sharp pain in my lower back. I guess the dreams are starting to affect my real life now. I grab the blankets and throw them to the other side of the bed freeing me from their warm grasp. The sun still hasn't shown its face yet. I look at the clock and notice that it says 4:30am. "I thought I set it for 6:30." I say to myself through my slight daze. I shrug my shoulders and get out of bed anyways. The best way to start when the sun starts, I've always told myself. I step down onto the floor and feel something indent into my foot. I jump back in shock and let out a screech even though it didn't physically hurt me. As my vision comes to I look down and notice it was my notebook.

I sigh in relieve realizing I am in no harm. Picking it up I notice that the notes were finished. Every bubble was filled with the exact details I thought of before dazing off. "I finished more than I thought." I say happily. "Today is going to be a great day!" Enthusiastic about the assignment I grab my toiletries and head to the bathroom to get myself together for school. A quick nice relaxing bubble bath will help me think more thoroughly about this essay. Running the water I slowly undress not wanting the coldness to caress my body before the steam does. Once I see the steam rising from the bathtub I dip one foot in at a time testing the water and making sure it wouldn't burn me.

As I sink into the water I think about how great it is to have a bathroom to myself again. Living with mom it was hard to find the right time to relax and take a bubble bath; especially now with everything that has been going on with her. I miss my mom a lot and I hope she's ok. I pour some body wash onto a wash cloth and begin to scrub my body. The smell of the vanilla body wash makes me think of ice cream. I close my eyes sinking back into the water to let the lather wash off my body. Tilting my head back I allow my mind take its tour where ever it wants to nothing could ruin this bubble bath.

"_Juliana." A sweet voice speaks my name._

"_Yes mommy?" I respond looking up from the floor to see my mother towering over me in her beautiful yellow polka dotted dress._

"_The ice cream truck is outside would you like to go get something?"_

_I nod my head happily jumping up and forgetting the new episode of my favorite cartoon was on. We walk to the truck that is parked outside of the house. Standing next to my mom I notice how close in height we were. I was 4'8 at the age of 13 and she was only 5'2. I wonder how long it will take for me to reach her or even pass her. She turns to me and smiles. "What is it dear?" she asks noticing my deep gaze at her._

"_I was just noticing how I am almost as tall as you are. Do you think I will be taller anytime soon?" I reply._

"_Darling you will probably be blessed and get to 5'5 and take on some of your father's genes." She says and begins to giggle. We laugh together reaching the ice cream a lot quicker than we realized. _

"_What could I get for you?" A man says with a foreign accent._

"_Could I have two vanilla ice cream cones?" My mother asks._

"_Certainly!" the man replies happily. _

_In no time he had both cones ready for us with rainbow sprinkles on top. He leans out and hands on to my mom. He looks down at me and smiles. His dark blue eyes and curly brown hair show beautifully in the light of the sun. His skin even seems to shimmer as the lights hit it._

"_What a beautiful little girl." The man says looking at me._

"_Thank you" I say blushing at the compliment. _

"_You are surely welcome little missy. Hope to see you again." He replies going back to the driving part of the truck._

_My mom grabs my hand suddenly. "Don't go to that truck alone. Guys like that will try to take advantage of little girls like you." She says getting into her motherly defense mode. _

"_Ok." I say a little confused. _

My eyes open and I notice that the sky seems to be a little brighter. The sun will rise soon. Quickly I get out of the tub and drain the water. I have to catch the sunrise today from the balcony. I dry myself off a little and throw on my bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. I walk into my room and open the door leading to the balcony. I found a nice chair and side table to put on it the other day so when I am bored I could read outside. I take a seat and watch as the sun makes its way into the sky. I look onto the side table and notice an envelope sticking out from under my favorite book. I open it and pull out a letter.

'_Dear Juliana,_

_I hope your journey to Forks is extremely exciting. I know that you will do just fine in a new place. I told you not to read this until you left because I know you will miss your favorite teacher so much that you would make an escape for it. It was a pleasure to have you in my class. You are a beautiful girl and I hope to see you again sometime little missy. _

_Sincerely, Mr. Johnson.'_

My eyes water as I realize I just now read this letter given to me the day that I left. A vision of Mr. Johnsons beautiful smile and wonderful blue eyes appears in my head, his nice curly grey hair and his beautiful accent that I miss most.

My eyes widen as it hits me. Mr. Johnson looks like the ice cream man.

The wind blows causing my hair to blow in my face. My heart races and suddenly the letter is blown out of my hand and into the air. Could my favorite teach be the hinted pedophile from my childhood? How didn't mom know? I look around searching for the man I assume to be watching me from afar. I grab my book and run into my room. Locking the door to the balcony various thoughts appear in my head and then I realize I didn't finish the notes last night, I left off on the bubble for the second topic. I stare at my room everything seemed to be foreign and unsafe. Was someone in here while I was asleep? And if so was it Mr. Johnson? I pull the strings to my robe tighter and suddenly feel like I am being watch. I need to find some answers.


	5. Paranoia

Chapter 5: Paranoia

I walk to my class feeling violated. My paranoia level is extremely high. Every noise I hear makes me look around me looking for the mysterious person who violated my sanctuary. I wonder how long this has been going on. What a bad way to start a new life. I wonder if it really is Mr. Johnson. I wonder if it is someone else. Who could it have been? Dad? No he does have time to do my homework while I sleep. God? I don't think in his busy life he would take the time to do someone's homework. Am I imagining all of this? I don't even know.

Various questions pop in my head. I don't know what to think this is such a strange situation. My main question is, was that really Mr. Johnson driving the ice cream truck a few years ago. I've heard he has other jobs during the summer, but an ice cream man. My mind is in a whole other world all first period. I fade in and out of Mr. Lark's speech about the French Revolution. All I could think of is the letter, my memory, and my homework assignment. Whoever wrote out the outline for me did a fairly well job though. I wrote the essay quickly based off the information listed in each bubble.

"Ms. Cortez, are you having a flash back of your involvement in the French Revolution?" Mr. Lark asks.

I shake my head snapping back into reality and looking my middle aged history teacher. Looking at him I realize his fairly large widow's peak. I give him an innocent smile hoping he'd continue with his lecture. He lowers his eyebrows showing his disappointment in me.

"So what's so IMPORTANT…" He emphasizes the word. "That you aren't paying attention to my class."

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. I turn to the side hoping my inner mind has something she could add to help with the situation. All she is doing is making a gesture to kid beside me who is sleeping happily at his desk not being singled out like I was. I immediately came with an idea.

"I can't focus with this his snoring." I lie.

Mr. Lark turns his head to the boy sleeping. He suddenly picks up my book and slams it down on my desk. The whole class jumps. The noise awakens the sleeping beauty beside me. I looked at the board and began writing the notes he had written on it. I could hear Mr. Lark giving the same speech to the boy beside me that he was just giving me minutes ago. I have to find a way to stay focused, especially in English seeing as my partner hasn't been there since I stepped foot in the class room.

"Thanks a lot…" I hear the boy next to me whisper as he walks out the door.

"I'm sorry." I apologize. "I promise I'll pay you back." He rolls his eyes then suddenly slams the door.

It's lunch time and the same situation has happened in every class. My mind keeps going to the situation and I get caught daydreaming and getting yelled at. I was sent out of my Chemistry class, placed in front of my Calculus class, and I still have two more classes to go. I know I could probably get away with the day dreaming in my Art class but in English I don't know what would happen especially since my group members have been in and out of class all week. I'm starting to feel like I have something wrong with me. I can't seem to keep a decent friend here. I sigh slowly swirling the spaghetti onto my plastic utensil. I get the chills thinking of how much I adored Mr. Johnson. What if he is really a creep who is obsessed with me?

I shake my head hoping to shake off the negative thoughts of my former teacher. I can't jump to conclusions and automatically assume it was him. I need more evidence and I have to set some kind of trap to do so. I look around at the various faces surrounding me. Every and any one of these people could be a suspect. I can't put all doubt into a teacher that I heard such great reviews about since eighth grade. Plus for all I know the ice cream man and Mr. Johnson could be related. I take a bite of my food trying to find some kind of explanation. I feel someone hovering over me and a shiver runs down my spine. I wait a minute hoping it was someone looking for somewhere to sit. The figure just stands there gazing over me, burning a hole into the back of my head with their eyes. Quickly turning around I say "Why are you standing there creep?" My mouth drops as I realize it is only Becca.

"Creep?" She says mouth wide open and offended.

"Sorry Becca I thought you were someone else." I say dropping my head a little with relief.

"Boy problems?" She asks putting her tray on the table concern in her eyes.

"Yes. Extreme boy problems." I reply.

"Do you want to talk about it? I am taking psychology this semester I could possibly help." She asks. I could see her hold her head up high proud that she is so scholarly that she is taking senior classes as a junior.

"I don't know if you're advanced enough to help understand stalkers." I say honestly but coldly.

Her gaze drops to her food realizing that I shut her out. She begins to eat knowing that there is not much else to talk about. I look at her and smile trying to lighten up the mood. I hate eating in silence especially if someone is sitting right next to me.

"What do you think could stop a stalker?" I ask.

"Depends on the situation." She says taking a bite of the dinner roll.

"What if you don't know who exactly it is but you could always see them in the distance?"

Her eyes narrow a little. She has somewhat of an 'I think I may know who you're talking about' look on her face. "Do I know this person?" She asks.

"I don't know." I sigh. "The person I assume it is I definitely know you don't know him. It just doesn't make sense to me though because he lives in L.A.

She looks around checking to see if anyone was paying attention to us. Leaning in she asks, "Is he the reason why you moved to Forks?"

My eyes widen. "No…" I say suddenly becoming depressed.

She gets the hint that it is a situation that should not be talked about. We continue eating in awkward silence. I think of home again, of my mom, of her fiancé Ted, of Mr. Johnson, of Kristen, of WWHS. I miss it all. I especially miss Caleb. He was a boy that I was crushing on for a while but I couldn't move forward with because he was Kristen's male best friend. We were always together and I didn't want to make the group awkward. He would help me when Kristen couldn't. He was my rock, my shield, my knight and shining armor, someone I could never forget. I take a deep breath realizing that I would never see him again and I didn't even say good bye. Caleb's a senior and plans on going into the Marines once he graduates. I officially became acquainted with him freshmen year. Although Kristen had been friends with him since we were in the 6th grade I didn't take the time to know him and whenever he came around I would leave within the ten minutes of his arrival, if he arrived on time.

My eyes soften with sadness and I stare at my food. Becca can tell that I am deep and thought and she just lets me simmer for a minute. Caleb and I were officially friends by the end of my freshmen year. Kristen convinced me to join drama club and surprisingly he was there. Mr. Johnson ran it then I could still remember how he had us do Romeo and Juliet for our spring production. And you guessed it I was stuck being Juliet and he was Romeo. I opted out of the part but Mr. Johnson wouldn't let me switch with anyone. "You're such a beautiful girl why don't you want to be the lead? It's not like you can't act because then I'd have you working in the back as a by stander or even helping the crew." He asked me one day when I was not putting much effort into rehearsal. "Caleb." I replied shyly.

I don't remember the full conversation to well, but all I know is somehow he convinced me that if I could act like I loved Caleb enough to do this part I could take my acting career to another level. Mr. Johnson was very persuasive and I stuck it out. After the curtains dropped and we all took our final bows the crowd cheered my name. I even had a standing ovation something I could only imagine in my dreams.

Mr. Johnson is a great guy. I sigh with the thought of my current dilemma. How could I assume that this man would drive thousands of miles just to stalk me? My phone vibrates the table. I pick it up looking at the person disturbing my lunch time. _New Message – Kristen_ it reads on my screen. I open the message and read it carefully.

'_Hey J :-) OMG! Guess what!'_

I click reply and slowly type _'What?'_

I continue eating and started a small conversation about the food with Becca. Then in less than five minutes I get a reply.

'_I heard Mr. Johnson quit. He hasn't been her for the past week and we have had substitutes since the day I told you he was called to the principal's office.'_

My heart drops. Maybe he has been stalking me. He had enough time to drive here and watch me. It hasn't even been a month and he already had to find me. I suddenly feel the grasp of a man's hand on my shoulders. I scream in fear loud enough that the whole cafeteria becomes silent and looks at me.

"Calm down. It's only me." Michael says peaking over my shoulder.

I turn completely red realizing that the whole cafeteria was watching me. Quickly I grab my bag and run to the bathroom. Michael stands there confused he looks at Becca who just shrugs her shoulders and continues eating. Tears fall down my face as I enter the stall farthest from the door. I am no longer safe in my new home. I have nowhere else to go. What am I going to do? I start balling my eyes. My vision is blurred because of my tears. I could hear the door open and footsteps walking into the bathroom. My heart rate increases and I quickly lift up my legs. What if that's him?

I could see the shadow of the figure outside of my stall. I grasp my mouth holding in any sound that could give my location away. It bends down to look for dangling feet. I sit there crouched on the toilet frozen with fear. I dare not move because I don't know what Mr. Johnson could do to me. The tears start flowing again and a sense of panic sends adrenaline through my veins and my flight reaction to kick in. I open my bag and quickly grab the tweezers inside. I throw the door open, tweezers pointing out and prepare to make an escape.

Screaming I jump out of the stall waiting to attack. I open my eyes wanting to see the look of amazement in Mr. Johnson's face. Instead I see Becca standing there in fear holding my phone in her hands inches away from the tweezers. My eyes widen as I realize how close I was to harming my friend. I drop the tweezers instantly and drop to my knees tears falling from my face.

"It's ok. It's ok" Becca says as she crouches down next to me slowly rubbing my back comforting me like my mother would after I'd awake screaming from a nightmare. I snuggle into her wanting the comfort hoping that everything would be ok soon.

"I'm…so… so-r-rr-ry." I stutter as a lump forms in my throat making it hard for me to speak.

"I know. It's ok. It's ok." She says still holding me. "He's not here."

I walk into English a little delusional. My art teacher took her time explaining to us the meaning of our emotions and free drawing. I never really pay attention in that class because to me it's an easy A but today was different, I wanted to keep my mind from wandering and paying attention had its perks. The way she explained each detail in which a figure in one picture could show so much about their inner mind put me in a daze. I began to compare art and writing, photography and science everything in the world became so logical to me. If I was to draw a straight line here then I follow the path of society if I do a squiggle there I am more individualized than most people. This is some serious psychological shit.

Ms. Spencer stands before the class. Her curly chestnut colored hair slowly starting to frizz out from the various activities she's done today. Her dark brown pupils focused on my corner of the room. I watch as she starts moving her small lips beginning her daily attendance. She is so beautiful super model material for sure. She even has stories of how she has modeled for various magazines in the past few years, so far no one has found one yet, I bet she was doing porn magazines.

The way she sectioned us was in groups of three with an exception of my group which had four members, although one kid hasn't shown up yet and another stopped coming Monday. I wonder what he looks like. Is he tall or short, black or white, skinny or fat, is he attractive? I imagine him as a quiet nerdy kid who has some serious bully issues. Either way he better not show up the week of our final project hoping to get some kind of grade off the hard work that we all did. I hate doing group work, although I was a very know person at WWHS I still take my education seriously. What's the point of being beautiful if you aren't that smart? I'm lost in a daze thinking of my mysterious group member. Who is he?

"Ms. Cortez?" I hear someone say my name but it doesn't process quick enough for me to respond. "Ms. Cortez?" Suddenly there's a jab in the side of my arm. Jessica the fourth member of the group snapped me out of the daze.

"Here!" I yell hoping that she didn't notice that I was dazing off.

"Welcome back to earth." She says with a smile politely showing she noticed.

I smile back at her apologetically. "Sorry."

She continues on to with the attendance. "Chase Cullen?" There's no answer. He is the kid who never shows up after all. "Chase?" She continues rolling her eyes as she begins marking him absent.

'Someone must have chased his ass out of school' my inner mind says to me. I roll my eyes at her ashamed of the corny comment that just slipped out of her mouth. Ms. Spencer smiles at me noticing I just rolled my eyes.

"It's ok Juliana they will show up someday."

There's a loud bang outside of the classroom. "FIGHT!" someone in the class yells. The whole class rushes to the door hoping to catch glimpse of the fight before someone breaks it up.

"Settle down. Stay in your seats guys." Ms. Spencer yells. "Or at least go view it silently, the more noise the quicker it ends." She says silently showing she has a bad side.

Before someone could fully reach the door it opens. I freeze in my tracks staring into the eyes of the person standing in the doorway. I lose my breath suddenly. My pen slowly drops to the floor as I recognize the familiar face in the doorway.

"No fucking way!" I say as I realize it's the guy from the café.


	6. Chase Cullen and Giovanni Black

Chapter 6: Chase Cullen and Giovanni Black

"Welcome Mr. Cullen" I hear Mrs. Spencer say as he walks into the classroom.

"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Spencer. I've been sick the past couple of weeks. I have a doctor's note if you want to see it." He replies holding up a document that looks like a doctor's note.

She shakes her head and motions the class to sit down. Everyone stands there looking to see if there was anyone out there fighting. On the floor sits the final boy in our group Giovanni Black, his spikey Native American hair facing us as he cleans up his books. Realizing the class is staring at him he jumps up. "Sorry Mrs. Spencer. I didn't mean to disturb the class." He bows to her showing that he is truly sorry. She smiles realizing all the noise was coming from the two boys that were late to class.

"Okay class. Let's get back to work." She says with a lot of authority in her voice.

Everyone returns to their desks. Some complain about getting excited for nothing others groan because they don't want to work. I just look at the two boys sitting across from me. They sit with their backs to one another. Their stares are extremely cold as if they were contemplating whether to attack each other or not. Jessica looks at me smiling. "Well at least I have you now." She says showing that this is the usual routine for the two. I look at Giovanni staring at the redbone before me. His beautiful brown eyes stare deeply at the desk as he is lost in thought. His long eye lashes flutter every now and then as a new thought comes across his mind. I wonder what he is thinking.

A smile forms across his face revealing his beautiful teeth and amazing dimples. He covers his mouth trying to hide his random smile which shows off his fairly large biceps. His slim athletic body attracts me. I wonder what his abs look like. My mind takes me on a journey exploring my classmate's body. I feel it heating up in the room as my fantasy gets intense. I shake my head trying to remove this strange vision from my head. Giovanni looks up at me. Our eyes meet and his smile gets bigger.

"Hello Ms. Juliana Cortez. Nice seeing your beautiful face again." He says breaking the awkward silence of our group.

"Hello Giovanni." I say turning my dirty thought of him back to those of a fellow scholar. "Mr. Cullen." I say turning my head to the boy directly across from me.

"Nice seeing you again." He says keeping his gaze out the window.

I realize his chair is pushed far from us. I know I can't smell this time. I am pretty much drenched in perfume keeping my vanilla scent on my body throughout the day. Jessica starts talking to Giovanni whispering as Mrs. Spencer announces the plans for the day. I stare at Chase hoping to find some kind of explanation for why he is so unhappy in this group. I inspect him noticing he looks fairly healthy, exactly how he looked before he ran out of the café. He notices my gaze and turns his head to me. We make eye contact and his cold stare mentally burns wholes through my brain. His body tenses up and he slowly moves his hand toward his mouth. He's going to run again. I notice his eye color is slightly darker than it was that day we first met. His hazel eyes look almost brown today. I guess they change color with his mood.

"Lighten up ok?" I say.

He does not respond he just stares at me with his dark gaze. I feel uneasy and look away. Mrs. Spencer writes on the board various terms and asks us how they all connect to one another. The two words that stand out to me most are "mystery" and "attraction." They explain the two boys in front of me. They are both mysterious in their actions. Although Giovanni is a little more open and polite I could see through his front, there is something they are hiding. I wonder why they have such animosity toward one another. They can't even look in each other's direction. Have they fought before? Girl problems? Is Giovanni the bully that I've been imagining? Most importantly what happened on their way into the class?

I know I am the only one who realized this but Giovanni was right behind Chase coming into the room. That means they had to have bumped into one another. Maybe Chase forced Giovanni's books to the floor. There is something deeper to their story and I wonder who knows what happen. I start scribbling into my notebook pretending to write down notes. Sliding it over toward Jessica I elbow her secretively to get her attention. _'What's the deal with these two?'_ it says on my note book. Quickly she starts to reply as if she's been waiting for me to ask for a while. _'I don't know. No one knows. The first day of school when Mrs. Spencer assigned us groups they made a huge deal about not wanting to be placed together.'_ I raise an eye brow extremely interested in their past.

I watch the boys intently. They glance over at one another without turning their heads. Their eyes soften but their expressions still as cold as an iceberg. I look into their eyes there's a lot of pain hidden behind each of their beautiful eyeballs. We have to resolve this if we want this group to work. Mrs. Spencer begins to hands out our rubric. _Get to Know Your Class mate_, sits bold in the center of the paper. There are ten questions on the front page each referring to your first impression of the person you are partnered with and on the back there are 15 interview questions.

"Attention class! There are 19 of you and I am being generous. Since this assignment is meant for an even amount of students you can all pair up into pairs with one set of three." She looks around the class noticing everyone fidgeting and getting ready to move around the room. "Actually I take that back. I am going to assign you guys into pairs. That way it eliminates the chaos of everyone running around the room. It also prevents best friends from pairing with each other." We all look around fearful of who we would end up with. I hope I don't get stuck with the smelly kid who sits on the other side of the room.

I really want to be Chase's partner. I had such a great time talking to him at the café and I wouldn't mind getting to know more about him. She begins reading off the names of each pairs. Giovanni and Chase were paired together. My heart rate increases as I realize that is a horrible combination.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Spencer. I would like to volunteer to be in the group of three with Giovanni and Chase." I say interrupting her list. She looks at me somewhat confused.

"That is a great offer but I already had a group in mind for that." She replies.

Both boys stare at me somewhat confused but extremely annoyed at the same time.

"I know you do but I think it would be best seeing as I am new to this school and they are both members in my group. Unlike most people here I don't know anyone in this room and I think that if I could get to know the two boys sitting across from me first it would be a lot easier for me to figure out the roles they would play in our group."

She stares at me somewhat amazed with my answer. "Ok you win. You could be paired up with these two boys. But I am going to warn you it won't be easy."

I stare at them with an accomplished look on my face. I will find out as much as I possibly could about the two mysterious boys sitting across from me.

_The sun shines brightly on a field of flowers. I lay there looking up at the sky enjoying the peace and quiet. A few clouds drift slowly across the sky with various noticeable shapes. "How cute a heart" I say out loud as if there is someone with me to find it interesting as well. A slight breeze blows causing the loose petals to dance across the medal. The smells of the different flowers blend together wonderfully. "Boy this is a great place." I say realizing how relaxed I am._

_Almost instantly there is a crack of thunder in the sky. I open my eyes to see the sky is terrifying and grey. The once so beautiful meadow turns into a field of dead bodies. Quickly I jump up from the once soft section of the grass. The ground is extremely dry, drier than the Grand Canyon itself. "What just happened?" I ask myself hoping to get some kind of response from my inner mind. She stands in front of me facing me in a way she hasn't before. She grabs my shoulders and I could feel her very touch. My eye brow rises as I realize she has come to life. "You're real?" I ask her slowly backing away. _

_She looks at me making a connection through eye contact. "I'm only as real as you want me to be." She says with a slight smirk on her face. She turns around facing the horizon. Her body tenses up a little as a figure makes its way across the horizon. I walk beside her to recognize the dark figure that has been haunting my dreams since I left L.A. His beautiful smirk still on his face as he notices the two of us standing next to each other. _

"_What should we do"_

"_I don't know but we have to decide quickly. He is extremely dangerous and if we don't figure out a way to defeat him we will become a dead body once again." She says her focus on his every movement. _

_As she stands there I could see some age in her. The way she looks so serious makes her look as though she is in her early twenties. Is that how I look when I am serious about something? She looks to me a little confused. "Why are you staring at me?" she asks in a dark tone. I shrug my shoulders and the face the figure. His canines seem a lot sharper and his smile more devilish. "5'9" I say as he is only a few feet away._

"_Juliana. You can't just focus on his physical aspects. He's a demon a heartless monster. Don't trust him because once you do he will stab you in the back." _

"_But me he doesn't seem dangerous. He just enjoys creeping the shit out of me. So far he hasn't made full contact."_

"_Call me Carmina." She says._

_I nod and as soon as the conformation of names is made he makes his move. I watch as he rapidly rips bites into the neck of Carmina and then suddenly rips off her head. Her body drops to the floor and he stands there facing me. He makes a growl as if he was a wolf about to attack his prey. My heart starts beating against my rips. "Fight or Flight." I say to myself noticing him moving closer. _

"_FLIGHT!" I yell and began running in the opposite direction of the attacker. _

_My world becomes black as suddenly hit something extremely hard. Looking up I see him standing there. His eyes show a deep hazel color as he stares down at me. "6'1" I say as I realize my prediction was wrong from before. He grabs my head and turns it to the side. My body starts pulsating and starts heating up. His lips touch my neck icy and cold. It relaxes my now burning body and sends a strange sensation through my nerves. He sinks his teeth into my neck quickly and painfully._

"_AHHHHH!" I scream in agonizing pain as my body starts heating up more and pulsating again._

My dad barges into my room with a bat in his hand. "Who's in here?" He asks as if the culprit would answer him.He looks around the room noticing that I am still in bed sleeping. He drops the bat and quickly makes his way to my bed. Grabbing my body he shakes me a little to wake me up. "It's ok… It's just a dream…" he whispers as I open my eyes and look at him. He stares at me his face extremely concerned. My eyes show the horror I had just experience. Kissing me on the forehead he begins rocking me back and forth. "Darling…. It's only a dream…" I feel something wet hit my forehead. Is my dad crying?

"Dad…Are you crying?" I ask bluntly.

"I hate…seeing you… in pain" he says somewhat choked up.

He holds me in his arms like he did when I was only a few day old. The warmth of his body relaxes me. I close my eyes thinking of how wonderful it is to finally have my dad to comfort me in the night. Slowly I drift back to sleep in my father's arms.

"Ok spill it." I say to the boy standing with his back to me.

"Spill what?" He responds.

"Giovanni! If you want to get a good grade you have to tell me something!"

"Excuse me. You're the one who volunteered to partner up with me and Cullen no one said we were going for an A." He says turning to face me. "You don't know what you got yourself into…" he says looking to the sky again. He kicks a rock in his rock paved driveway. I could sense a bit of negative energy coming from him. I walk over to the pickup truck parked in at the top of the drive way. Slowly he follows like a child does when his mom tells them it's time to go in.

"So question one is _Where were you born_?" I enforce the words of the questions so he could tell I was serious.

"Switzerland." He says with a smirk on his face.

"Are you serious?" I say with a blank expression on my face.

"Yes." He responds his smirk getting bigger.

I roll my eyes. "Forks, Washington it is" I say as I realize he is lying.

"And where were you born?" he asks

"San Francisco."

He pretends to write it down on an invisible piece of paper. I roll my eyes and shove the papers back into my back pack. "When is Chase coming?"

"He's not" he retorts happily.

"What's the deal with you two?"

He pauses and looks around as if checking to see if anyone was paying attention to us. He leans in a little closer showing that the story is very secretive. "He's dangerous…. Trust me…" he says. My eyes squint a little wondering if this is some kind of joke. His response wasn't very detailed so for all I know it could be a lie. I go back to the day in the café. Chase didn't seem harmful to me. His body structure isn't that intimidating. Giovanni is bigger than Chase due to his full athletic shape.

"I don't believe you… You don't have a legitimate reason." I say challenging him.

"Well there is a legend passed on from my ancestors about the cold ones. I don't remember it fully because I honestly don't care too much about legends. I do know the basics and I do know that you can't trust a Cullen."

"The cold ones?" I ask confused as to what that means.

The door of the small shack house slams shut. A man in a wheel chair rolls out and down the ramp leading to the drive way. He has long black hair and his features show he is of Native American decent. Giovanni stiffens as he is now aware of the disabled man coming toward him.

"Hello uncle. This is Juliana, we were just leaving." He says almost instantly.

The man in the wheel chair waives to me and then takes Giovanni to the side. They begin talking secretive on the other side of the truck. I turn my back to them not trying to get involved in their family discussion. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation but I try to ignore them, it is none of my business.

"She doesn't know anything." Giovanni says somewhat loud.

"Are you sure? Don't you find it a little odd?" his uncle replies.

I get a little closer to the truck realizing they are talking about me.

"Uncle I'm telling you this girl just moved here not too long ago. I think you have her mistaken."

"No this is the girl. She knows more than you think… You can't trust her. She will only lead you down a dark path… Giovanni listen to me…"

I hear a thud against the truck and then Giovanni emerges from the side. Apparently he kicked the truck out of anger. His face is extremely serious and somewhat attractive. Sexy actually. He motions for me to get into the truck. I do as I am told. He must really be pissed off is jaw line shows that he is clenching his teeth. His uncle rolls back onto the porch and stares at me. I stare back at him confused as to why he doesn't trust me and who he thinks I am.

"He doesn't like me?" I ask with a sad expression on my face.

"He doesn't trust you." He bluntly states as he puts the car in reverse and begins backing up.

I stare at my ceiling as I think of a way to get in touch with Chase. I haven't heard from him all weekend. I managed to get all the questioning done with Giovanni even though his childish antics made the time extend longer than I had hoped. The thing I loved most about Sundays is that I get time to myself for most of the day. In the morning I work. I usually think about Forks and how life here isn't too bad. I don't really like the weather, but it gives me a chance to experiment with fall and winter fashion. For the most part it was fairly warm in L.A. and I didn't really have to do anything extreme for the winter, if anything I'd put on a sweater.

I wish there was a way to understand everything that goes on here. Why did everyone avoid the Cullen's at school? Does it have something to do with the legend from the Reservation? I quickly get up and grab my laptop. With set as my default webpage I quickly enter in _the cold ones legend_. Quickly my search engine pops up the hits. Page after page I read through the legend.

"Ice cold skin…" I read out loud. I have not read into something so unbelievable before. Every page leads to the assumption of demonic creatures and vampires. I quickly close my laptop in disbelief. "Giovanni has to be shitting me…." My face extremely serious and very annoyed.

Quickly I grab my phone and create a text message. _'Vampire….. You're getting a big smack when I see you… They are not real…'_ Selecting Giovanni's contact I quickly hit send. I am not one to fall for stupid superstitions; especially those coming from an Indian Reservation. My phone begins to vibrate showing Giovanni's face.

"Hello?" I ask answering the phone.

"You don't believe me?" He responds.

"No! Who could serious believe that vampires are walking the earth. You've got to be shitting me… Maybe they were on drugs and mistaken a wolf for a human. I don't know I just know that _VAMPIRES_ don't exist." I say quickly and furiously.

He sighs from his side of the phone. "Look into it before making a decision." His voice sounds a little depressed.

"Fine I'll do it for you." I lie.

How could he call the man I hope to become my husband a vampire. Chase is not pail enough to fit into the category they speak of. Yeah, sure his skin is a little lighter than most people in his skin category and sure he isolates himself from the population, that doesn't mean he is a vampire. His smile appears in my head his sharp teeth gleaming in the light. Suddenly a flash from my dream begins:

"_Juliana. You can't just focus on his physical aspects. He's a demon a heartless monster. Don't trust him because once you do he will stab you in the back." _

"_But me he doesn't seem dangerous. He just enjoys creeping the shit out of me. So far he hasn't made full contact."_

"_Call me Carmina." She says._

_I nod and as soon as the conformation of names is made he makes his move. I watch as he rapidly rips bites into the neck of Carmina and then suddenly rips off her head. Her body drops to the floor and he stands there facing me. He makes a growl as if he was a wolf about to attack his prey. My heart starts beating against my rips. "Fight or Flight." I say to myself noticing him moving closer. _

"_FLIGHT!" I yell and began running in the opposite direction of the attacker. _

_My world becomes black as suddenly hit something extremely hard. Looking up I see him standing there. His eyes show a deep hazel color as he stares down at me. "6'1" I say as I realize my prediction was wrong from before. He grabs my head and turns it to the side. My body starts pulsating and starts heating up. His lips touch my neck icy and cold. It relaxes my now burning body and sends a strange sensation through my nerves. He sinks his teeth into my neck quickly and painfully._

"_AHHHHH!" I scream in agonizing pain as my body starts heating up more and pulsating again._

I shake my head clearing my thoughts of the nonsense proposed to me. Maybe I can just look into the ice cold skin part of the story. That way I get the chance to prove Giovanni wrong and I also get to touch him. There is tapping at my door leading to the balcony. I jump in fear. Slowly I turn my head hoping that Mr. Johnson wasn't standing there. To my amazement it was CHASE! I stare at him from the room thinking of all that was told to me today. It finally settles in and caution flashes through my head. _"Juliana. You can't just focus on his physical aspects. He's a demon a heartless monster. Don't trust him because once you do he will stab you in the back." _

He stands there smiling at me. His face looks a lot calmer than it did that day in English class. I walk to the door and unlock it. My heart rate increases with fear but my body can't stop. "DON"T LET HIM IN" Carmina says to me. "I have to… I can't stop…" I respond my mind blank as if I were in a trance. Opening the door and motioning for him to enter I slowly lose consciousness and collapse on the floor. "JULIANA!" Carmina screams. Suddenly everything goes black.

"_Good things happen to good people." My mom says. "If you are ever in danger as long as you've been the best you possibly could nothing bad could happen to you." _

_I sit there staring at her in disbelief my inner mind shaking her head. 'Don't trust her' she says as I begin to form words on my lips._

"_How do you know that mom?"_

"_Trust me darling. You haven't done anything wrong in the ten years of your life and so far the worst thing that has happened was you catching the flu, and that was when you were first entering school." _

_I nod my head realizing it's true. My inner mind shakes hers 'Trust me Juliana we are from a whole different world than your mother. I should know what will happen to you seeing as I am you. Someone will betray us and it wouldn't be the first time.' I raise an eye brow in confusion._

"Good things happen to good people I whisper as I begin to gain consciousness."


	7. Heartbeat

**Ok with this Chapter I wanted to try something a little different it may seem dark to you but I felt this chapter is necessary for the plot of this story. **

**ENJOY Thank you for reading and following along :)  
**

Chapter 7: Heartbeat

I hear intense thumping. A man's voice welcoming and soothing speaks to me. "Julia…Wake up." I could hear the sadness in his tone as he is trying to persuade my conscious to come out of hiding. I see a bright light. Everything in the room is blurry. The thumping increases and soon that is all I could hear. As my vision becomes clearer I realize I am not in my bedroom anymore. _Where am I?_ I think to myself as I could see the forest trees surrounding me. My body is cold I could feel the chill coming from the rocks surrounding me. _I'm in a cave?_

I could recognize the voice now. It's Mr. Johnson's. I jump up quickly as I get a sense of where I am. I stand there looking down on the man who just had me curled in his arms. My heart aches and feels as though a sharp knife is stabbing into it. I drop to my knees and clutch my chest. I feel as though I am going through a heart attack, but I know from past experiences it is just the stress pressuring my heart.

"What…Are…You…Doing here?" I ask as the pain slowly begins to lighten up.

"You don't seem to be happy…" he says as he begins to stand up so we are eye to eye.

"Why would I be? You followed me here…" I say holding back my fear.

"Juliana Cortez are you accusing your favorite teacher of being a stalker?" he asks his accent almost gone and his tone of voice somewhat psychotic.

I step back a little noticing the exit is only inches away. My first thoughts are how to escape without him catching me. He watches me carefully. A smile forms on his face as if he were hoping I was going to make a run for it. My body tenses up. _What do I do?_

"Juliana… Do you remember me?" He asks breaking the silence.

I shake my head trying to pretend I didn't recognize him from the ice cream truck that day. "Am I supposed to know you from somewhere?"

He chuckles. "Of course not…You will remember soon enough." He responds as he walks toward the exit. "You don't feel safe do you?"

My heart rate increases. I begin to panic realizing I am now officially trapped. _"Carmina… What should we do?" _I ask my inner mind.

"_Ask questions…"_ she responds with an eyebrow raised slightly.

Mr. Johnson stands there. Pleasure seems to form on his face as he sees me lost in thought. He stands there blocking the exit. "Do you want to leave?" he asks with a smirk on his face.

I nod. "Please."

His index finger is up now rocking from side to side motioning no. "Not until you give me something worth letting you go." His teeth begin to show as if he was looking at his new prey. He takes in a deep breath and smiles. "Boy don't you smell delicious."

My body stiffens even more than it already was. Suddenly flashes of the websites I was just looking at flash in my head. "Cold one…" I whisper. His eyes widen at the words.

"What are you saying over there?"

I shake my head instantly not trying to give away my conclusion. _How did he get me?_ My memory instantly kicks in. _Where is Chase?_ I step back a little and take a better look around. Chase is nowhere to be found. I wonder where he went or what happened to him. _Did Mr. Johnson eat him?_

"Where is my friend?" I ask him with a lot of authority in my tone of voice.

"The boy in your bedroom?" He asks as if he were confused. "You mean Chase right?" he says licking his lips.

The rain begins to fall and there is a flash of lightning. The scenery begins to fit the creepiness of this situation. My heartbeat begins to become unbearably fast and unsteady. I could hear howling from wolves in the distance. _How does he know Chase?_ My world begins to blur again. The sounds in the background become louder. The sound of the howling made it seem as if the wolves were in the cave with us. I try to make clear what is surrounding me. _Don't go black now…He could kill you… We have to save chase._ I say to myself hoping to stop from fading out. As the blur becomes a little clearer I see a giant animal standing behind Mr. Johnson. I could hear its growling and heavy breathing from my distance of it. The mysterious create causes my body to give up and I suddenly pass out again.

"Jules" I hear a familiar voice speak to me as my darkness becomes bright.

"Dad?" I ask confused as to how I got here.

"Are you hungry?" He asks. "You've been sleeping since you got home. I know you must be starving." He responds without allowing me the chance to answer his question.

I rub my head realizing I have a slight head ache from the lack of nutrients. I look around my room noticing it is how I left it, even my laptop which is resting on my legs. I quickly pick it up and move it to the other side of my bed. _Was it all a dream?_ I shake my head clearing my thoughts. I know that this is not the time to think of all of this nonsense, especially not with dad being here.

"Dad what did you make?" I say with a big smile on my face.

"Pork chops, broccoli, and mac and cheese." He says a little depressed by such a simple meal.

I jump up with joy I haven't had that in a while. "FOR REAL!" I yell as I begin running to the kitchen. He just smiles and shakes his head. Then slowly follows me.

The eating area in the house is fairly small. Because the kitchen was so large he put his table in that area and used the dining room as his living room, and the living room as a giant study. I don't mind it. There is a table big enough to support a family of four but small enough to leave room in the kitchen for us to move around happily. I wonder if he has his girlfriend's eat here by candle light. Does he even have a girl friend? I look around to see how organized the house is. It's hard to tell what goes on with my dad since he was always so organized and on top of things. My mom however was the exact opposite. When something was wrong or missing there was a tornado in the house and when she was on a date with someone one the house was completely spotless. I was always cleaning seeing as her dating life was very limited. I guess I get my organization skills from my dad and of course his cleanliness.

"So how is school?" he asks as we sit across from one another enjoying his delicious meal.

"Great. My group members have all shown up the past couple of days." I stab into my broccoli thinking of how strange my group is. "But of course when that happens she separates us into little groups in order to get to know each other."

"Hmm… That is odd. Wouldn't she do that on their first day of school? We're in mid-October right?" He looks over to see his calendar which shows the month of October on it.

I glance over and my mouth drops as I realize. Has it only been a few weeks that I attended school at WWHS and now I am in Forks…? I think of the time and remember how we started school a week earlier this year. I hate starting school in August… I remember talking to my cousin from Boston and she starts in September I would love to enjoy the extra weeks of the summer. And of course we get out earlier than she does so maybe it isn't too bad.

"Yeah I would think so. Maybe she is doing it again. I never really asked."

"Who is your partner?" he asks extremely interested in the topic. That's one thing I loved about my dad. He really enjoyed hearing about what is going on in my life.

"I have two partners… Who are polar opposites… Giovanni Black and Chase Cullen…"

My dad drops his fork. "Doctor Cullen's boy?" I stare at him a little confused. "And the boy from the reservation."

I nod my head a little concerned. "Is that bad?" I raise an eye brow at him.

"Yes. I don't want those boys with my little girl. I know what boys like that want." He begins eating again.

"Dad… It's just a group project and don't worry, they are not my type… Giovanni is too childish at times and Chase is very mysterious." I try to avoid their looks because both are extremely beautiful.

"I bet it is… I know what kind of group project they want." He says with a little frustration on his face.

My jaw drops instantly at his reference to a threesome. "DAD!"

"Sorry honey I'm just saying a beautiful girl like you is always on the minds of guys. And they are two good looking young men, you must be thinking of them as well.

I shake my head. "Not my type. I like a guy with a lot of knowledge and courtesy. Someone who is extremely mature. I am not about looks like most people are."

He looks at me and returns the eyebrow. "You're not?"

"Dad, are you trying to call me a follower?" I reply.

"If the shoe fits." He replies putting some mac and cheese in his mouth. "And you leave this house dressed like you are expecting to get someone's attention."

I instantly grab a piece of broccoli. "I just like dressing nice." I say playfully tossing it at him.

"Looking nice for Chaaassee" he extends his name for emphasis.

I turn red and focus my attention to my food again. _Why did he single out Chase?_ I could feel his sense of victory like rays of sunshine in the summer time. He begins to finish his food as well with the smile still on his face.

"What's for dessert?" I respond as I finish my plate.

"Strawberry Chase cake." He says trying to make a joke of the situation.

"Dad! Stop that was so corny!" I shake my head at him.

He laughs happily. "Well you're the one who is denying your undying love for the boy."

"I don't love him!"

"Well you were calling his name in your sleep." He gins at me. "Could you elaborate on that one?"

My mouth drops _was I really calling him_? Maybe I am in love. Dad goes to the refrigerator and brings me a slice of cheese cake. We eat it in silence. I could not think of anything to discuss, my mind was focused on my dream, and dad was too into how it came out to say anything buy _mmm this is good_.

It is almost time to present what we've found out about our partners and I still have not talked to either of them together. I have not spoken with Giovanni in three days and Chase has been extremely distant of me. I met up with him Tuesday night and we discussed the questions. I did not speak of my dreams, my thoughts, anything that involved him I just really wanted this project to be over with. We have been working on this for two weeks technically. And we are expected to present them on Halloween. She has also offered extra credit points if we come in with pictures of us celebrating the holiday the following school day.

I haven't gone trick-or-treating in almost 3 years. I don't think I will start that again anytime soon. Plus I'm sure they won't do it willingly. I just wish there was some way of talking to the both of them without having to do so physically, seeing as they won't face each other outside of school. Suddenly a light bulb goes off in my head. "GROUP TEXT!"

_Hey guys I decided since you both are two immature to face each other outside of school and we need to communicate with each other to pass this class, I came to the conclusion that if we have a group texting session we could discuss more of our project without physically seeing each other. So what do you guys want to do for HALLOWEEN?_

I click send and I feel extremely proud of myself. I hope this works out better than the project itself is.

_I will be a vampire_ Giovanni responds

_Ware wolf :) _ Chase says shockingly

My mouth drops. They are willing to do it. I jump with joy proud of my first grand idea involving this group. Maybe they enjoy Halloween more than they hate being in each other's presence. I think of what I want to wear. The memories of previous costumes dance around my head. A bumble bee, a pumpkin, a goddess, and the one that stands out most the witch.

_I guess I will be a witch then._

This is one big step for the both of them. Wow I am so proud of my sons. I chuckle as I realize they are so immature and this holiday fits them so perfectly. Flashes of various costumes appear in my head. Should I go based off scary or sexy? I look at the calendar. I take out my sharpie and make the Saturday before Halloween _COSTUME DAY_ that way I would not forget to buy one. I have to really start saving up. This Halloween is going to be the best, especially since I get to spend it with two gorgeous guys.

_I hear the thumping. My heart is speaking to me. I open my eyes to see only trees thousands and thousands of branches leaning over me like children who spotted an ant at the park. A chill runs down my spine. "How did I get here?" I say to myself as I slowly lift my body off the ground. I am fully dressed in a witch costume. I was wearing a black sequenced shirt with my shoulders fully exposed to the world. My skirt purple and black plaid short enough to show my sexy side but long enough to cover the areas need. By knee high socks black with two purple stripes on the top are torn midway. "Where are my shoes?" I look around to see my hat and shoes resting on a rock. They are purple and glittery and the hat all black with grey hair hanging from it._

_I make my way to the rock only a few feet away. The wet ground so cold and moist it feels so gross and unbearable. The wind blows quietly chilling every part of my body. I groan. "This is unbelievable!" I wonder how I possibly made my way to the forest and how long I had been laying there. My hair is tussled and there are leaves tangled in it. As I reach the rock I notice something odd about the design of the hat. Looking down I see a snake wrapped tightly on it. "EEK!" I scream and quickly and suddenly stumble back. Landing on my ass I look around to see if anyone had seen me. No one was around me. _

_I take a deep breath. "I can do this" I say as I get up off the ground. The snake rears its head up staring directly at me. It hisses fiercely warning me not to get any closer. I stare into its eyes challenging it. 'I need to at least get the shoes' I think to myself. The snake slowly extends its body showing off its outstanding length. I back away as it comes closer. Now, only a foot apart and a yard or so from the hat I am paralyzed with fear. The snake moves its head side to side as if trying to put me into a trance. Its tongue makes its way in and out of the mouth intimidating me and causing my heart beat to increase. _

"_Carmina!" it hisses at me. The way the name rolls off its tongue sounds amazing._

_My eyes widen. 'Did this snake just TALK'? "No…I'm Juliana…." I say shaking my head as I say no. _

_The snake seems to yawn and its marvelous fangs show. "Juliana?" It says a little confused._

"_Yes…Juliana… How can you talk Mr. Snake?" I respond wanting to get some answers._

"_You are in a dream." He replies his eyes suddenly turning into a spiral of red and blue swirls._

"_I'm asleep?" I ask raising an eyebrow. "What is the purpose of this dream?"_

_The snake shakes its head. "Carmina… Don't play coy with me… You know what this dream means… You know what must be done… Or else it will happen again… You are doomed…" He hisses a short monologue and slowly fades away. _

"_I am NOT Carmina!" I yell hoping he could hear me in some way. _

_I walk to my items and put them on. I have to clean up somehow. I could hear the flow of water in the distance. There must be a river close by. I allow my senses to map my route listening to the sound of the rushing water and smelling the scent of the flowers that grow along its bed. Exiting a clearing in to woods I see a cliff. "Ocean..." I say knowing that I had ended up at the point where the river flows into the ocean. The crashing of the waves against the rocks below frightens me. _

"_Jump" A familiar voice calls._

_I turn away from the cliff and look toward the forest. Before me stands Chase he stares at me with a cold stare. _

"_Chase!" I say running toward him. _

_As I wrap my arms around his slim body I could feel nothing but coldness. I slowly let go and back away. "Chase…Are you a vampire?" I ask hoping to get a 'no.' _

_He stares at me not making a comment. In his eyes a lot of pain and sorrow. "Jump" he finally responds and points to the cliff._

_My heart beat increases again as the boy I am madly in love with offers me suicide on a platter. "Jump? Why?" I respond with fear in my tone of voice._

"_You killed him… You killed Giovanni… YOU KILLED HIM…YOU KILLED GIOVANNI…" he screams suddenly lunging himself toward me._

_I scream as we begin wrestling near the edge of the cliff. "NO! NO! NO! I did not kill him…" I respond. He finally pins me down looking down on me. Tears are in his eyes his face so hurt and filled with sorrow. I shake my head at him showing him I was being sincere. "Chase…. I would never…" I respond._

_Suddenly a flash of the event in which Giovanni was killed pops in my head. Giovanni is pinned against my side paneling stunned with fear. The man chuckles as I woman suddenly walks to him taking the gun out of his hands. She pulls the trigger and there is a loud bang. She turns around her curly hair blowing it the wind and with a smile on her face…__**It was me**__._

_Chase lifts me off the ground holding me over the cliff. "You are going to die." He says as cold as possible. I kick my feet as if I would magically be able to save myself. _

"_Chase I am so sorry…" A sudden question pops up in my head. "Why do you care though?" _

"_I love him" he says as he drops me from the cliff. Suddenly false memories of our friendship flash through my head: various times of us as children playing in the park, running through the field laughing with our cap and gowns on, lying in the woods with a fire lit. More and more memories flash by as I fall to my death. Suddenly everything goes black._

I scream as I jump up from bed. "It was only a dream I respond as I realize I am still in my room. "This means something." I say as I remember the last thing the snake says. "Do I kill Giovanni…? Was that man Mr. Johnson? And is Giovanni Chase's best friend?" I look around as the thoughts of their strange relationship flashes in my head. "Or are they secret lovers?"

**Now Juliana is wondering and ideas are flowing through her head. Let me know what you think. Next chapter will we up soon :) Thank you for reading**


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